Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Silver Ghosts of Huben

By Impiyani


Before dawn I was in Huben. It was still very dark and there was a chill in the air as I turned into the yard of Mr. Chang's traditional Taiwanese house. Multitudes of dogs snarled and yapped. They didn't seem very happy to see me. A large roster came over. He seemed friendlier. It was almost as if he was coming over for a predawn chat before doing his morning duty and waking the neighbourhood. Mr. Chang came out and we headed off up the track following the river. We both bounced around on our motorcycles as we made our way to his little wooden cabin further up the valley. Today we had a purpose. We were after the very elusive Silver Ghost of Taiwan's forests.

We reached the cabin and parked the motorcycles. We loaded up and climbed down onto the rocks in the river. To go deep into the Huben forest one has to follow the course of a river or stream. The steep cliffs and thick vegetation make it impossible to get deep into the remote parts of the forest other than by this means. Streams in Huben are very rocky. Generally, they don't carry very much water but when it rains they become raging torrents.

It was still dark as we started on our way. We hadn't gone far when the predawn calling of an endemic Taiwan Partridge started. Mr. Chang responded and the partridge called back. It wasn't far off but the thick forest shielded it from view. We carried on and in the east dawn began to break. The calls of songbirds surrounded us but it was too dark to see anything.

High in the trees above us a Crested Serpent Eagle greeted the new day with a call. Mr. Chang smiled and called back. The eagle immediately responded. We carried on with the soft calls of the eagle floating to us on the breeze.

It was hard going. Despite the chill in the air I was beginning to build up quite a sweat. Mr. Chang indicated we were getting close. Even the slightest rustle of clothing is enough to startle the Ghost. We moved very quietly. We carefully stepped from rock to rock. The forest was just light enough to see a short distance ahead now. We moved forward slowly. We would stop to listen and scan the area ahead for movement. Mr. Chang's sharp ears caught something. I hadn't heard it but he said he had. The Ghost was near.

We moved on. The river narrowed and vegetation had taken root in the stream bed. We stopped and searched the shadows ahead. One second I was looking at a shadow and the next instant the Ghost stepped forward from out of the shadow. We both saw the Ghost at the same instant. There it was. The distinct silver-white back, crest and tail contrasting against the dazzling blue of the body and the fire-red face and legs. I started to shake with excitement. I could hear my heart drumming in my ears. The Ghost melted into the vegetation and disappeared. I stood there breathless. There really wasn't enough light for a shot but I took my camera out of its bag and moved forward.

I crept over boulders and moved towards where the Ghost had vanished. I crept forward and once again it stepped out of the shadows. It was very dark but I took a few shots just to capture the moment. In an almost dream-like state I watched the Silver Ghost moving about in front of me.

A male Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii) moves through the Huben undergrowth.


Robert Swinhoe had discovered the species, endemic to Taiwan, in April of 1862. He sent the skin to the great English ornithologist John Gould. Gould was the Curator and Preserver at the museum of the Zoological Society of London. It was the height of the great voyages of discovery and Gould was in the unique position of being on the receiving end of skins that were being sent to the Society from every corner of the globe.

Gould had thus described an extraordinary number of species from around the world. Amongst these were Darwin’s legendary finches. He wrote up the description for Robert Swinhoe’s new pheasant and it was published in the 1863 edition of The Ibis. Even the stuffy Victorian, Gould, was impressed by Formosa's Silver Ghost and stated, “This exceedingly beautiful species is one of the most remarkable novelties I have had the good fortune to describe.” He named the species after Swinhoe; Lophura swinhoii. When this majestic species was first revealed to the West, many dubbed the newly described Swinhoe's Pheasant as the world's most beautiful bird. To some, it remains so, and certainly the noble gent I was watching totally captivated me with its graceful splendor.

The pheasant moved off slowly. It was unaware of my presence and I was able to watch it for about two minutes in all. All too quickly time passed and it melted back into the forest. Mr. Chang and I pressed on. I was euphoric. This was my first Huben male. The Swinhoe's Pheasant is considered a bird of the mid elevation mountain forests. The handful that inhabit the lowland hills of Huben indicate that the species certainly did inhabit the central Taiwan lowland forests before humankind turned much of the lush lowland forest into monocrop fields, concrete jungles and industrial estates.

We moved on and then retraced our steps hoping to get another view of the pheasant. No luck second time round, so we pressed on again. Just as we came to a steep rise Mr. Chang’s sharp ears had heard something. We stopped and waited. Moments later I heard it too. There were Ghosts in the undergrowth. We waited. Suddenly Mr. Chang pointed. I didn't see anything and then my eyes caught a movement. There was a pair. I watched them stride through the undergrowth and then they vanished. It was time to head back.

Male Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii):- Photo courtesy of Richard Yu.


We walked back down the stream. Monarchs, Fulvettas, and Bulbuls moved about through the trees. Some Taiwan Scimitar Babblers started to call. The Crested Serpent Eagle was calling, too. I was soaking the tranquility up and savoring it.At Mr. Chang's cabin we made some Oolong tea. We talked about Huben and its birds. I mentioned the Malayan Night Heron and Mr. Chang imitated the call. From just outside the window there was an immediate response. We both laughed. It was time to go and I climbed on my motorcycle. I had only gone a few meters when the Malayan Night Heron flew across the road. I stopped and snapped a quick shot of it in the early morning sun. It had been very good morning! And mornings such as this are becoming tragically rare.

Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus).


It has been several years since that morning. Since then, much of the Huben-Hushan Important Bird Area (IBA) has fallen victim to the Hushan Reservoir Project, a project that went ahead under extremely dubious legality. The stream is still there. The lower reaches below Mr. Chang’s cabin are covered in concrete now, just another of the concreted streams that have been covered over in the name of anti-erosion work. Too often streams in this area fall victim to schemes cooked up local contractors and officials where healthy streams that don’t have erosion problems get covered in concrete just for a quick buck.

The upper reaches of the stream are still good. The pheasants are still hanging on in their last lowland outpost. The reservoir will no doubt pose a serious barrier to threatened terrestrial birds like the Swinhoe’s Pheasant and Taiwan Partridge. It will increasingly isolate them as their genetic flow from the mountains is severed. Likely, the concrete will keep advancing slowly but steadily upstream and the trees will give way to fields and houses and the last lowland outpost of the noble Swinhoe’s Pheasant will be no more.

This is just one of many such tales. Downstream of the Hushan Reservoir project the fate of the Taiwan pink dolphins hangs in the balance. As we march into the second decade of the new millennium so much hangs in the balance. The catastrophe at Copenhagen has shown us that the world still doesn’t get it. In parting, I’ll leave you with a few words I saw in a post on Birdforum.net by a member named James Owen.

Because every green measure, every conservation effort and all the little economies we could make in our daily lives, may look insignificant if we choose to look at the big picture. On the other hand, if we view that big picture as millions of little choices made by people just like us, that's how we can come to understand why it's our own choices that are so important.

Taiwan pink dolphin (Sousa chinensis).

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

The second fire at Formosa Plastics plant in Mailiao: Photo courtesy of MFCU.


Under the 'Environment' heading in the Quick Take section of today's Taipei Times is a brief titled Government promotes green. It tells how Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen and his EPA plan to "encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation." Shen went on to explain how they plan to "promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years." This all sounds very good. It has an almost noble quality about it. But yet Shen and his EPA have given the nod to massive petrochemical development with the various expansions of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP). Unless the EPA incorporates such 'green' plans into a massive crack down on and clean up of the petrochemical industry in Taiwan these 'green' plans are nothing but green gimmicks. When the EPA starts to abide by the Supreme Court rulings that they ignore on the CTSP expansions. When the EPA really goes after Formosa Plastics for its disgraceful environmental record and puts those responsible for incidents such as the three recent fires at Formosa Plastics and its affiliates behind bars then and only then will such green projects have any meaning other than the EPA pretending to be green.

Taiwan EPA Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen. His profile shows he has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Photo:-Taiwan EPA.


From Taipei Times Quick Take:
Government promotes green

Taiwan is working to foster an environment that will encourage private companies and local residents to develop green industries and combat global warming and resource degradation, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said. The centerpiece of the government’s plan, Shen said, was to promote the birth of 50 low-carbon communities around Taiwan over the next two years, six low-carbon cities within five years and four low-carbon living regions with 10 years. To achieve these goals, the government will push companies and banks devoted to ecological conservation to open offices in “low-carbon special zones,” in which electric vehicles will serve as the main means of transport, Shen said, adding that the government also planned to make the agricultural sector more environmentally friendly and turn incinerators into biomass energy production centers.



Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Local residents gather to watch the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire. No police or emergency management officials seem to be present to ensure the health and safety of residents and onlookers in this area. We would be interested to hear if this was indeed the situation.


On Sunday October 3rd, Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, had a fire break out at their Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County. The blaze started at about 8:30am and raged for 17 hours before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The plant produces a waterproof synthetic paper known as white pearl, or PEPA. No casualties were reported.

Two fires at the group’s petrochemical complex in Mailiao Township in neighbouring Yunlin County in July caused national outrage and provoked demonstrations. The October 3rd fire coupled with the two at the FPG Plant in Mailiao in July serve to highlight the groups ongoing horrendous environmental track record. FPG were the 2009 winners of the infamous Black Planet Award for their shocking disregard for the environment.

View of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire from the local cemetery. Photographing petrochemical fires from a cemetery must have a very sad feel about it.

The Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire from across the surrounding rice fields. Would you want to eat rice grown in these fields? Even without the fire I wouldn't. I wonder where this rice lands up?


Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

…and the Black Plant Award goes to…Formosa Plastics Group!

Diane Wilson speaks to reporters shortly before green shareholders and stakeholders entered the Formosa Plastics Corporation Annual Shareholders Meeting in Taipei in an attempt to present Formosa with the Black Planet Award.


Diane Wilson, author of An Unreasonable Woman (2005), which chronicles her David vs. Goliath battle with Formosa Plastics Group in Calhoun County, Texas, was in Taipei on June 25th, 2010 to help present the Black Planet Award to CEO Lee Chih-Tsuen and the founding family of Wang Yung-Ching.

The Black Planet Award 2009 was bestowed on FPG by the ethecon—Foundation Ethics and Economics, an organization based in Germany—for FPG’s egregious social and ecological damage of global dimensions. The Wang family is among the richest in the world with assets estimated at more than 70 billion US dollars. Although there have been repeated demonstrations against FPG in Taiwan and elsewhere around the world, these pleas for a change in their attitude of seeming disregard for humans and the environment have fallen largely on deaf ears.

In order to gain access to the FPG board meeting, individuals including those who have been victims of FPG's horrendous environmental practices have bought shares in the company. This group of individuals has been called the small green shareholders. However, their attempt at entering the meeting hall and presenting the award—an oil stained globe—to the senior executives of FPG was foiled by security guards who barred their entry. After a bit of pushing, shoving and shouting, in protest Wilson and members of this entourage sat down in the hall and refused to leave. They were forcibly removed after about 30 minutes.

Diane Wilson, herself a Blue Planet Award recipient in 2006 for her courageous, decades-long fight against FPG over the pollution of the species-rich habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, led the group of more than 20 representatives of other Taiwan and US environmental organizations. They include Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Green Party Taiwan, Green Formosa Front, Mercy on the Earth Taiwan, Yunlin County Shallow Waters Aqua-culture Association, Taiwan Environmental Action Network, Taiwan Academy of Ecology Taipei Branch, Changhua Environmental Protection Union, the Calhoun County Resource Watch, and Injured Workers United.

Link to video of Diane et al at the Formosa board meeting.

See:
Green Groups Storm Formosa Plastics Corporation at Annual Shareholders Meeting - Taiwan's Newspapers Mum

Update: Environmental Groups Confront Formosa Plastics Corporation at Annual Shareholders Meeting

Breaking News: Greens storm the Formosa Plastics Annual Shareholders Meeting to present the Black Planet Award

Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Friday, October 8, 2010

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

A local on her knees before legions of police officers guarding the Formosa Plastics management offices at Mailiao. Exasperated locals gathered to demand the government do something about Formosa Plastics and its toxic problems in the wake of the second fire at the plant in a month. A third Formosa-related fire raged down in Chiayi County last Sunday.


Taiwan EPA Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen. His profile shows he has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Photo:-Taiwan EPA.


Accusations that Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) are nothing new. With Taiwan's legacy of almost four decades of Martial Law and five decades of one party dictatorship, rubber stamp government agencies have been a reality in Taiwan for most of its post World War II existence. The situation began to change after the first democratic elections in 1996 but old habits die hard and with the nationalist KMT regime returning to power in 2008 it would appear that the old bosses still have a preference for doing things the old way.

Indeed, you may be forgiven for mistaking Taiwan's Premier Wu Den-yih for a petrochemical executive and the EPA for Petrochemical Development Bureau. The EPA's continued favouring of development at the expense of the environment and the well-being of local communities is alarming. It is also creating a climate of desperation where whole communities feel powerless to stand against so-called development dictated by government. Supreme Court rulings are just ignored by the government and the government sends in the riot police as soon as communities voice their concerns. With the government's handling of the situation literally shutting the accepted legal avenues that communities have to address the situation by ignoring court rulings etc the government is setting the stage for a very dangerous situation where communities may well feel that they have no other option but to take the law into their own hands and that is usually a very sad and tragic road when travelled.

For more comment read today's Taipei Times editorial: EPA’s rubber stamp spells ‘doom.’


Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Thursday, October 7, 2010

New Pink Dolphin paper published in Marine Mammal Science

A paper titled Evidence for year-round occurrence of the eastern Taiwan Strait Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the waters of western Taiwan by John Y. Wang and Shih Chu Yang was published online by the journal Marine Mammal Sciece on 30 September 2010. The paper which presents evidence to show that the ETS Sousa [aka Taiwan pink dolphins] is present in the inshore waters of western Taiwan throughout the year will appear in print in Marine Mammal Science in an upcoming issue. Wang and Yang have authored several papers on the ETS Sousa and are also the authors of the book Identification Guide to the Dolphins and other small Cetaceans of Taiwan.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wu going soft on Formosa?


Sunday's fire at FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp's Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County.


One would be forgiven for confusing the Taiwan Premier with an executive of the petrochemical industry. Premier Wu Den-yih seems to place the needs of the nation at a far lower priority than that of the petrochemical industry. In today's Taipei Times we are told that yesterday Premier Wu "urged Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) to tighten its internal controls after Sunday’s fire at Nan Ya Plastics Corp’s Second Plant in Taibao City, Chiayi County." He went on to say "he hoped the company would take [Sunday’s] fire seriously."

Premier Wu Den-yih. These days he seems to behave more like a petrochemical executive than the nation's premier: photo Wikimedia commons.


What's all this use of "urged" and "hoped"? Is fire safety voluntary in Taiwan's petrochemical industry? Wu, you're the nation's premier! How about something along the lines of "three fires since July is unacceptable! It is nothing short of disgraceful and and can only be seen as the result of a culture of grossly negligent management combined with substandard safety policies that puts profits above all else." After three fires surely members of FPG's top management need to be charged criminally?

For more on what our dear Premier Wu had to say see Wu urges FPG to tighten controls in today's Taipei Times.
For more comment see the editorial: Creating a culture of safety.

Another photo of Sunday's fire at FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp's Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County.

Also see:
Yet another FPG related fire

Formosa Plastics on fire again

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Yet another FPG related fire

Sunday's fire at FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp's Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County.


Another Formosa Plastics fire ! Yes, unbelievably there has been another one. On Sunday FPG affiliate, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, had a fire break out at their Chiayi Second Plant in Taibao City in Chiayi County. The blaze started at about 8:30am on Sunday and raged for 17 hours before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The plant produced a waterproof synthetic paper known as white pearl, or PEPA. No casualties have been reported.

Two fires at the group’s petrochemical complex in Mailiao Township in neighbouring Yunlin County in July caused national outrage and provoked demonstrations. It is clear that in the wake of the July fires that FPG has just carried on with their usual profit-at-all-cost manner of conducting business. Sunday's fire serves to highlight the groups ongoing horrendous environmental track record. FPG were the 2009 winners of the infamous Black Planet Award for their shocking disregard for the environment.

Yesterday, FPG chairman William Wong apologized for the fire. Under the circumstances such apologies can't be seen as anything but a sarcastic joke. The toxic fallout from such fires cause tremendous environmental damage. The Environmental Protection Administration said it had collected samples of black-colored rain water believed to have been the result of the fire. With the EPA's record of cosing up to the petrochemical industry one can't help but question if the EPA could be considered "neutral" enough to actually be entrusted with the analysis of such samples? Any reports issued by the EPA regarding this have to be seen as potentially suspect. A totally independent enquiry needs to be made into this and the other two recent Formosa fires. Clearly, whatever pressure the EPA and cabinet gave FPG after the two Mailiao fires in July it hasn't resulted in any meaningful changes in the safety standards at the group's plants.

See Formosa Plastics chief apologizes for fire in today's Taipei Times.


Also see:
Formosa Plastics on fire again

Photos of the Nan Ya Plastics Corp fire

Government quick to defend Formosa Plastics in the wake of a second fire

Opposition pressures Government in wake of the second Formosa fire

Taiwan High Administrative Court orders Central Taiwan Science Park to halt all expansion pending a ruling on two lawsuits

Candidates - No fallout from Formosa fire in Sinbei elections

Academics against new Kuokuang plant

Local residents block access to FPG plant

Local residents continue to block access to FPG plant

Government defies the courts with the President's blessing

Isn’t It Time the Legal Community Spoke Up?

Science park development at Houli gets the nod

Wu going soft on Formosa?

Taiwan's rubber stamp EPA

Shen's latest EPA green gimmick